Tonight!
Made Chicken Tinga (shredded chicken breasts slow-cooked in a mixture of tomato; chipotle, Anaheim, and Poblano peppers; onion; garlic; cilantro; lime; cumin; epazote; S&P; and chicken broth) and Semi-Homemade Refried Beans (a huge can of pintos fried up with some lard, onions, garlic, cumin, and cayenne).
Alongside them, I had some good Mexican Restaurant-Style Rice (cooked with tomato-chicken bullion–the secret to getting the deep salty, tangy flavor into each grain without having tomato juice burn all over the bottom of the pan–plus onions, garlic, cumin, and frozen mixed veggies), Spicy Latino Slaw (basic coleslaw mix of cabbage and carrots with a glaze made of Mexican crema blended with cilantro, jalapeno, garlic, lime zest and juice, and a little sugar, salt, and pepper), and some of the Cilantro-Lime Crema leftover from the slaw.
What better way to celebrate such a bountiful feast than. . . Chicken Tinga Flautas! Stuffed corn tortillas with a mixture of the Chicken Tinga, shredded Fiesta-blend cheese, and chopped green onions, then fried in half an inch of oil. Topped 'em with some of the Cilantro-Lime Crema, some crumbled Queso Fresco, and a healthy drizzle of Valentina hot sauce. With sides of the rice, beans, and slaw to match, it was a hell of a dinner :-D
After tonight’s dinner, I’m willing to say that I’ve produced something better than a restaurant (something which I almost never say). But the local hyper authentic Mexican joint du jour, Taqueria el Toro, serves a mean plate of flautas with crema and queso fresco, plus rice and beans. . . and I liked basically everything on my plate more than their version! Including my Valentina, which hasn’t been sitting on a dirty table for 6 months ;-)
